updated 01:42 pm EDT, Fri October 18, 2013

Radical changes in iOS 7 could be scaring away some users

According to one study, iOS 7 experienced slower adoption within its first seven days than iOS 6 did -- though other studies disagree with the claim. Using tracking data over the first week of release, mobile ad network and analyst Millennial Media's ad impressions from iOS 7 devices grew 185 percent per day on average, eventually accounting for 16 percent of all iOS traffic. According to the firm, however, iOS 6 grew an average of 264 percent per day, reaching 35 percent of iOS impressions.

The reasons for the gap can't be pinpointed, but Millennial speculates that the radical (if mostly cosmetic) changes in iOS 7, combined with a handful of mixed reviews, may have deterred some people from making the switch. "Because iOS 7 was such a major update, it seems likely that early adopters downloaded it as soon as possible, but for other consumers, there may have been hesitation after reading about how radical the changes were," the firm states.

To back the theory, the company notes that on an hour-by-hour basis, most people started downloading iOS 7 after 5PM on the first day. "While some consumers may have downloaded the update during work, they most likely saw the major changes and decided they needed to explore the new system away from the pressures of the workday," Millennial says.

The data does conflict with figures produced by Chitika and Mixpanel, though, which claim that iOS 7 installs grew to over 30 percent just 48 hours after launch and is currently sitting at over 70 percent adoption. No clear reason for the discrepancy has emerged, as all three utilize data from app and mobile ad tracking.

In addition to the new, "flat" look, I was not expecting to like iOS 7 on performance issues. I also still have an iPhone 4 -- although the 5s is now compelling enough to consider upgrading -- and I figured it would be slower with the new OS. My experience has been the opposite. My 32 GB iPhone 4 feels more responsive, the battery life is better, plus I like the operational changes and new features very much. It's a win for me.